HTC Incredible May Be All That, but Android Is Still Not Enterprise-Ready

By Clint Boulton |
Posted 2010-05-02

When Verizon Wireless launched its vaunted HTC
Droid Incredible April 29, it put out a statement touting the device as "well-equipped for the
business user with enterprise-grade security, always-on connectivity and much
more."

Unfortunately, the "much more" for the device, based on Version
2.2 of Google's Android operating system, doesn't natively include the ability to force
the use of a complex device password or to create and wipe the device when lost
or stolen.

Handy technical users can create and add these features to their Android
devices, but Google doesn't readily provide them.

Incredible or not-the device rated highly with eWEEK-Gartner analyst Ken
Dulaney won't recommend smartphones based on Android because it lacks such
capabilities.

That complex password capability, remote wipe and other features analysts
put on their enterprise check list are coming to Android seems a matter of
when, not if. When asked about these capabilities, a Google spokesperson told
eWEEK the company doesn't preannounce new product features.

The spokesperson then pointed to Android's support for Microsoft Exchange, which is probably
the top requirement for a device to be enterprise-capable. More than 500
million people use Exchange for business use, so it's a great starting point
for making a platform ready to handle business use.

Indeed, Verizon in its statement noted that the Incredible offers Exchange
ActiveSync to help corporate road warriors access e-mail, calendars, contacts
and tasks while employees are away from the office.

"If you're in any kind of regulated industry and you use an Android
phone, you can get nailed big time-it has no encryption, no wiping and no
policy setting capability," Gold told eWEEK.

"This is an inherent flaw in ActiveSync-not in the technology itself,
but in the licensing. Microsoft will license ActiveSync to anyone (as they
should), but they do not enforce what features/functions you must
incorporate."

What this does is allow vendors to pick and choose what they implement,
challenging enterprises that look to enforce specific policies.

What will end up happening, Gold predicted, is there will be a very disjointed
Android market, with companies like Motorola and HTC
building special layers on top of Android to add the missing security layers
and other missing features.

Of course, that will lead to more fragmentation in the Android platform, a
persistent problem for an ecosystem in which four versions-1.5, 1.6, 2.0 and
2.1-currently command developers' attention. Moreover, Google is rumored to be
launching Android 2.2 at Google I/O later this month.

That is not to say enterprises aren't embracing Android with gusto. Some of
them are. Mobile device management provider Tangoe, for example, launched full Android support last week.

The company, which makes software used by more than 400 companies around the
world to manage expenses related to their mobile communication assets, won't
support the iPhone until June.